Friday, February 08, 2008

TOP STORY > >Base thanks mayor for support

Little Rock Air Force Base last weekend honored its best, presenting awards to a dozen airmen and civilian employees.

Jacksonville Mayor Tommy Swaim was the recipient of the first Team Little Rock Cornerstone Award for his contribution to base relations. Brig. Gen. Rowayne Schatz, commander of the 314th Airlift Wing, came up with the idea for the award as a way to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the air base.

Swaim was instrumental in getting a penny sales tax passed that will help fund a new education center in front of the air base. The center is a joint project between the air base and the city and will cost $15 million. The city is contributing $5 million of that amount. Congress recently appropriated $10 million through a Defense Department spending bill. Construction will start next year.

The project is the first of its kind in the nation, forging a unique partnership between the military and the city. The education center will serve the military and civilian students, in effect providing a college campus in Jacksonville.Maj. Gen. Irving L. Halter, commander of the 19th Air Force, and Schatz presided over the ceremony at the sports and fitness center.

Halter called the winners better than Super Bowl athletes.

“I can guarantee you our team will be back here next year, doing the same thing with the same people as of the same great Air Force, because ‘The Rock’ and the Air Force have made a habit of excellence,” Halter said during the awards presentation. Senior Airman Hector Villarreal, of the 314th Maintenance Squadron, was named airman of the year.